Command Corner: June 27

  • Published
  • By Col. Eric Wydra
  • 436 AW vice commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  This has been a busy week for "America's Preeminent Expeditionary Airlift Team!" We are building an unbeatable total force team and continue to shape the finest enlisted leadership force in the world. A few accomplishments worth mentioning; we bid a fond farewell to Maj. Gen. and Mrs. James Hawkins, welcomed a new 18th Air Force Commander in Maj. Gen. Winfield W. Scott III, hosted the 18th Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant, recognized our airman leadership school graduates, congratulated our newest master and technical sergeants, and implemented the wing's goal-day program. 

On Tuesday, Col. Steven Harrison, 436th Airlift Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. John Wood, 436th AW command chief, had the distinct pleasure to attend the 18th Air Force change-of-command ceremony where General Hawkins relinquished command to General Scott at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. General Hawkins will be retiring after 35 years of faithful service to our Air Force and nation. Following the change-of-command ceremony, General Scott held his first commander's call where he outlined his leadership philosophy, priorities and vision for 18th Air Force's future. 

Thursday, Chief Master Sgt. Brye McMillon, 18th Air Force command chief, spent a large part of the day visiting with many members of Team Dover during his base tour, culminating in his speaking engagement at the ALS graduation last night. Junior and senior leadership alike were inspired by Chief McMillon as he discussed some of his valuable lessons and life experiences that helped shape him into the leader he is today. 

While our newest ALS graduates certainly honed their leadership skills during their training, I'd like to formally congratulate the 42 Airmen that will be joining the Senior NCO ranks, and the 69 technical sergeants that earned another stripe yesterday. It's an honor and privilege to serve with the finest enlisted personnel in the Air Force, and these promotions are obviously well deserved ... congratulations! 

Saturday, we completed our last major exercise leading up to the operational readiness inspection in July. This exercise was a huge success, as hundreds of Team Dover members could be seen around base in mission-oriented protective posture gear, checking M8 paper, performing sentry and post-attack reconnaissance team duties, and practicing the necessary skills to survive and operate in a combat environment. 

With only four weeks left until the ORI, we've honed our warfighting skills, but we can't let up. We must continue to practice and review our processes ... as there is still room for improvement. The margin between an "Outstanding" and "Excellent" rating can be razor-thin so let's make sure we bring our "A" game to the fight! 

Last May during Colonel Harrison's commander's call, he announced we would begin a wing goal-day campaign, and starting Tuesday, we're going to roll-out our first metrics and begin tracking our progress. To keep all Dover Airmen informed of the status of our campaign, the Airlifter staff will post our weekly statistics next to the commander's commentary. Additionally, each quarter we will determine if the wing met or exceeded the campaign standards. 

To earn a goal day, the 436th Airlift Wing must meet four of the five following metrics. Maintain a 97 percent currency rating with 99 percent of those Airmen in the "good" category on the physical fitness test. We must have zero government travel cards on the 60 day overdue listing. Home-station departure reliability rates must be 76 percent for the C-5 Galaxy, and 93 percent for the C-17 Globemaster III. We must achieve an "Excellent" on the ORI, while an "Outstanding" will earn a buyback for another metric that we fail to meet. Finally, we need to reduce our driving under the influence statistic, and the goal is zero. 

There's only one caveat ... if the wing earns a goal day, but we have a DUI during the quarter, then that squadron will miss out on the reward. After looking at the statistics over the past six months, I'm convinced these metrics are obtainable, but it's going to require a lot of teamwork and leadership to make it all possible! 

Shaping the finest enlisted leadership force in the world while building an unbeatable total force team ... just two more reasons Team Dover is "America's Preeminent Expeditionary Airlift Team!"